Thank you for visiting Strengthen and Conquer Fitness. We are focused on guiding you towards your goal whether it be running a race, weight loss, powerlifting, or staying in shape. As your trainer, I will ensure you stay focused and enjoy the process.

Do you know what your weakness when it comes to your training? Do you hate pull ups with a passion because you can’t do them? Do you hate the erg because it DRAINS you? Is your strength in your lower body and so, you hate benching? Everyone has their reason for not doing certain things during their workout, but you are actually hindering your performance and progress.

A weakness is a weakness for a reason. You suck at it! The only way to get better is to DO IT!! Let’s look at pull ups, one f those things people either love or hate. What muscles are needed in a pull up? Well without your arms you’re not even going to get on the freaking bar. You lats, your rhomboids, your shoulders, your biceps, your triceps, and your forearms. Which of these muscles do you train on a weekly basis? I am going to venture a guess and say if you’re a guy, the lat pulldown is one of your token exercises. You like to work on that muscular, wide back to impress the ladies. You probably do some curls, some pulldowns, some presses. But how often do you work on complex exercises like the pull up? Exercises that actually MAKE your muscles work together?

For those of you that are powerlifters, you may be saying “Why the hell do I need to work on pullups?” It’s not a bench press, deadlift, or squat of any kind. Well, let’s go back to the bench being a weakness. What muscles, other then your chest, do you use? Let’s see here…..in order to lift the bar off of the rack and hold it up, you need strong triceps and biceps. To hold your shoulders in tight and keep your form during the decent you need your lower back, your shoulders, and your lats. If you use proper form for pressing max weight, then on the ascent you need your lats to kick in and press since your back is arched and chest elevated. All these ancillary muscles need to be worked, need to do their job.

Next time you go to do some curls, pulldowns, or tricep extensions, think about what will progress your training. What will enhance your sports performance and ultimately make you a better athlete?